What Love Can Do
by Some-weird-girl924
Summary: Kaoru is a kind-hearted person...with magical powers. She is a reject of society, but all of that changes when a mysterious assassin sent by the government comes to her dojo...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ruroni Kenshin series, stories, or anything else. =D Reviews are accepted, comments, too. Even flames.  
  
Kaoru sat in the cold, dark alleyway, where she could heal herself without getting kicked or spit upon. It was the usual treatment wrought upon her each day, because magic was a forbidden art and she was the only person who knew how to wield it.  
  
She looked sorrowfully at the bruise she had gotten from a man who kicked her viciously and called her a witch. Her tears did not fall because she learned to hold them back. Ever since the town found out about her powers, they turned on her, afraid of what they didn't understand, instead of using her powers for good. She sat on the cold, damp ground that stank from fish and who knows what. Her hand went up to her bruise and she closed her eyes and concentrated. The blue sparks spread from her hands to her thigh like healing water and the discoloration faded away.  
  
I wish I could use my magic to fade my troubles away, too, thought Kaoru wistfully. She slowly got up, peeked out of the alleyway, and, seeing that the coast was clear, slipped in and out between the houses to avoid being seen. She had to reach the dojo before anyone caught her. The dojo was the only home she'd known, and the government decided not to set it on fire because she had cured a small breakout of smallpox. But who knew when they would change their mind?  
  
People's minds are like smoke, she thought angrily. If only they could see how much I want to help them, maybe their minds wouldn't blow astray from the winds of prejudice. Her shoes lightly touched the ground as she silently moved through town. Few people were up this late at night, which was a relief for Kaoru. No kicking, no taunting, no yelling, no beating, no spitting, nothing. Just her and the cool air breeze and the night sky. The night sky...it was beautiful out. The stars twinkled and were so big in the night sky, so beautiful, like diamonds. They were the only things she could look to for comfort. And right now would be a time for them to guide her.  
  
"Stars," she said under her breath, "please help me find someone who doesn't look at me with disgust or doesn't look down on me. Someone that makes me feel like I belong." And when she was done with this simple prayer, she had arrived at the dojo. She took out her hair ribbon, and fell asleep on the tatami mat, unknowing that her wish would be granted the very next day.  
  
"Kaoru!" a voice yelled. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and woke up. It was Yahiko, an orphan who lived with her. He was small and scrawny for his age, but his eyes burned with a fierce, brave flame. His parents had died in the war that resulted in the Meigi era. Since no one would take him in, he had come into Kaoru's dojo one day and never left. "I'm hungry! Do we have anything to eat around here?"  
  
She sat up, preparing for the first fight of the day. "Get something in town yourself, lazy bum! And can't you do something about your hair? You look like something off the streets!" She playfully rapped his head with her knuckle. He was scowling. They were like brother and sister, and even though they loved each other like family, they'd never admit it.  
  
"Why? Can't you go into town? Oh...wait..." Yahiko knew then he had gone too far. Kaoru's big eyes filled with tears but she didn't cry. Instead, she smiled through it.  
  
"No, I can't. You know what they call me, witch, monster..." she said, ticking off the names as playfully as a child counting to ten for the very first time. But Yahiko knew that deep down inside it hurt her, and it hurt him watching her get hurt.  
  
"Never mind, I'll go get it," he grumbled, pretending to be mad to do chores. She fished out some money she had made while cleaning a teahouse. It was a meager amount, but just enough to buy another meal. He grabbed it and ran out the screen door.  
  
Tidying up the dojo was no problem for Kaoru because no one came there. Her father had died in the same war Yahiko's parents died in, and no one in the town wanted to learn the discipline of sword-fighting from a witch. Her father had been a wonderful man, kind and caring, bold and firm in his beliefs. He taught the students with an iron fist, but managed to be sympathetic to their needs at the same time. His teaching style was unique: Swords that Bring Life. But what good did it do him? Kaoru mulled over in her head. He's dead.  
  
While she swept around the front of the dojo, she wondered where Yahiko was. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was beginning to give off an orange light that engulfed the whole sky. She admired the shades. Pink, red, orange, and yellow... she observed in her head. In the distance, she could hear something. It sounded like...footsteps. Fast, running footsteps! She looked to where the noise was coming from. A dust cloud! Angry mobs? But she hadn't even gone out today! Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a scrawny boy. "Yahiko!" she yelled. And then...on his back...a man! She ran to both of them, and Yahiko collapsed under the man's weight.  
  
He was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. "This man...ha...badly policemen...ha...caught sight of his sword and beat him up! I couldn't just let him die! So I brought him here," he explained while he and Kaoru lifted the man and took him inside the dojo. There, they lay him on a worn tatami mat and Kaoru put a wet towel to the man's head. He was a small man, but taller than Kaoru was. His red hair was unusual, and his scar was even more baffling. It was shaped like a large cross, but it didn't make him look disfigured. In fact, it intrigued her. He looked tougher with it. Plus, he was...good-looking. She smiled. Was this her blessing?  
  
Yahiko had bought the groceries, on top of carrying a full-grown man on his back. He and Kaoru had a simple dinner of miso soup and rice. She intentionally left some for the mysterious man, just in case he woke up in the night. After dinner, they went to sleep, a full and contented sleep.  
  
In the middle of the night, the man awoke. His amber eyes slanted upwards, like a cat's, and were filled with malice and anger. He spoke quietly to himself. "So...this is where the witch lives. That seer was right. Too bad I can't repay her." He smiled, the very smile an assassin gets from the joy of killing. He relished the memory that with one flick of his blade he had killed her, slitting her throat, and the blood...it kept pouring out. It still sent shivers down his spine. So easy.  
  
He made his way around the dojo, as silently as a cat stalking its prey. In one room, he saw the little boy who had carried him here. Just like the seer said he would. He was doing this for the love of money, and because the government offered him a substantial amount if he killed the witch, it hooked him like bait hooks fish. He decided not to kill the boy, because the boy was helping him get money. It was awfully tempting, though. The boy just slept...so vulnerable. No, thought the assassin, have to keep focus on the mission.

He looked around a little more and finally saw the witch. He quietly unsheathed his blade, and looked at her. She was beautiful, no matter how evil the government portrayed her. Her black hair was as black as a raven's feather and seemed to flow like silk. Her face was an innocent one. Her long lashes added warmth and kindness. He hesitated, for the first time in his career. Maybe this isn't the witch, he thought, a strange feeling growing inside of him. Maybe the old crone is using her as a decoy. He shook his head, as if in a reverie. She was the witch, through and through. And he had to kill her. Oh well. You can't judge a book by its cover. He raised his blade, and...


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAMER: I do not own the Ruroni Kenshin series, comics, or cartoons. Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, to any of you who gave them. Here's chapter two.  
  
Kaoru's eyes snapped open. Her senses told her that something was wrong. The same man Yahiko had brought to the dojo was standing over her, sword in hand, ready to kill. She muttered a quick disarming spell, knocking the sword out of his hands, and punched him hard upwards into the chin while he was distracted. He toppled backwards, unconscious.  
  
Yahiko ran into the room, hearing the commotion. "Hey! What happened?" he asked urgently. Kaoru panted and pointed to the sword and the man.  
  
"He was trying to kill me," she said in a panicked whisper. His fierce amber eyes were etched into her brain, and she could feel their cold stare. She shivered.  
  
The man groaned and sat up. Yahiko grabbed the sword and pointed it to his throat and Kaoru was thinking of which spells to use to extract some information out of him. Slowly, he revealed his face. He was smiling, a smile of an innocent child.  
  
"You didn't have to punch so hard, you know," he said cheerfully to Kaoru, rubbing his chin. She stared at him, confused. Yahiko lowered the weapon in disbelief.  
  
"But you tried to kill me!" Kaoru exclaimed. "You were going to kill me with your blade...and..." Tears started to roll down her cheeks. She buried her face in her sleeve, very frightened and thoroughly mixed-up. Yahiko turned to look at the man with hatred in his eyes, and yelled at him. "What's your name?! Why are you here?! Do you have any idea what she goes through?!" he bellowed.  
  
The stranger calmly replied, "My name is Himura Kenshin." He went over to Kaoru and held her close. "It's okay, I won't hurt you now." His violet eyes seemed regretful and sorrowful as he tried to calm her down.  
  
Kaoru slapped his hand away. "Who sent you? The government?! Did they decide that I was too evil for their cause, Kenshin?!" she spat, saying his name with hate. He closed his eyes and sighed.  
  
"If you'll calm down, I'll speak my part," he explained. "And once again, I am truly sorry that I tried to hurt you. It is not normal for me to want to kill someone. I have...how do I explain? I have two personalities. One is evil and one is not so evil. I know it may sound hard to believe, but..." he trailed off. Suddenly, he punched the ground with his fist, leaving a large indent in the wood floor. "Damn those officials! The only way to change me is to hurt me! And I never get hurt!" He turned to Yahiko. "Do you know why? I'm a battousai...an evil...evil..." His innocent violet eyes emanated anger, anger so very deep that Yahiko could feel it from where he stood.  
  
Kenshin looked at Yahiko. "I shall not hurt you, boy. I'm going to demonstrate the depth of my true monster." And, suddenly, he punched himself very hard in the chin, where Kaoru had knocked him out. Both Yahiko and Kaoru watched intently as he shook and twitched. He slowly looked up again. This time, the kind violet eyes were those of a feline's, slanted upward, and were a beautiful, yet horrifying, amber color. He smiled a cold smile.  
  
"This is the other me."  
  
They both gasped as they tried to back away. The battousai evilly smiled at them from where he sat. "Don't worry, I promised I wouldn't hurt you," he said mockingly. "Although I'm an idiot to pass up two perfectly helpless little lives." He punched himself in the chin again, and reverted back to the kinder Kenshin. "See?" he said weakly, sounding powerless. "Another side...and I can't..." He fell down again, unconscious for the third time that day.  
  
Kaoru and Yahiko looked at each other. It was clear to them that Kaoru's dojo attracted only disturbed souls. Kenshin was number three.  
  
Kaoru was busy that night, dragging Kenshin to the far end of the dojo. She also took a look at the nasty bruise under his chin. Poor man, she thought. How would it be like to be two people at once? And have no will over it? After she performed a minor healing spell, she fetched a blanket, and covered Kenshin with it. When he showed no signs of stirring, she breathed a sigh of relief. Kaoru gazed at him. Maybe he was a blessing in disguise...she didn't mind the nicer ego, but the evil one...she shuddered. She decided that she would let Kenshin stay, as long as he didn't revert to that demon. Quietly, her feet led her out of the room and she walked toward her bed.  
  
The next morning, there was enough rice and miso soup left over to make breakfast. Kaoru was getting it ready, while Yahiko poked and prodded the odd stranger suspiciously.  
  
"Hey, Kenshin, wake up!" he yelled into Kenshin's sleeping ear. "Breakfast!" He did not stir. Yahiko got up, obviously mad at him, and kicked him hard in the top part of his head. "I said, wake up!" This woke Kenshin up, as he smiled at Yahiko and grabbed his foot.  
  
"Now, now, violence isn't the answer."  
  
Yahiko snorted. "Hmph! Look who's talking!"  
  
They had a quiet breakfast as Kenshin explained how the government sent him to kill Kaoru for witchcraft and how he'd gotten the information from the now-dead seer. But he didn't answer many whys. Kaoru was in disbelief. She hadn't hurt anyone! In fact, she wanted to help them. Be a doctor, a nurse, anything...her vision became blurry as her eyes filled up with tears. She couldn't see Kenshin's hand placed on her shoulder, but she felt his warmth and apology. And that was enough.  
  
Yahiko, who was too young to recognize love, looked at them both like they were crazy. Here was a man who had tried to kill Kaoru, and Kaoru didn't hate him with her whole heart. He continued eating his breakfast, pretending not to care whether or not Kaoru actually had interest in this man.  
  
After breakfast, the three of them went into town, to seek out the government officials who had altered Kenshin and ordered him to kill Kaoru. The people in town saw that they were coming, and ran into their houses and shops, seeing a battousai and a witch coming down the dirt road. Kenshin took Kaoru's hand and she blushed for the first time not because of embarrassment, but because of some deeper emotion. They walked hand in hand, while Yahiko glared at the people who dare give him a dirty look.  
  
The whole time, the town was silent, as well as the three. The awkward silence hung between them, silent and odorless, yet thick as sap from a tree.  
  
Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Hey, battousai!" A tall brown-haired man came out of the crowd who had gathered to see Kaoru and Kenshin. The man smirked. "Hey, I hear they've got a bounty on both of your heads, battousai and witch." Kaoru cringed at the name. He continued, "Well, why don't I just kill you both right here and now. My partner's not here right now, so I'll just have to use my two hands." He placed his feet shoulder-length apart, broadened his shoulders, and looked at them with an air of superiority. "Battousai." Kenshin looked startled to see that he was being talked to. "You'd better put up a fight before you die."  
  
Yahiko had had enough. "What the heck is your problem, old man? What did these two ever do to you?" He stood in front of Kenshin. "I know this guy may be dangerous, but he doesn't mean to..." He stopped as the man came over and punched him "lightly" on the shoulder. Yahiko dropped to the ground like a dead weight, eyes opened in shock.  
  
Kaoru yelled, "Yahiko!" She turned to the man. "Don't come any closer! I have magic coursing through my veins." She held up her trembling hands. "Don't make me use it!" The man came over to her, looked her in the eyes, smiled, and touched her on the forehead. She, too, was knocked out.  
  
Kenshin knew that he was facing a very powerful opponent, but he didn't care. His face was contorted with anger as he quietly said, "What's your name, stranger?"  
  
The man smiled yet again. "The name's Sanosuke. But you can call me Sano." 


End file.
